.:. Ken's Live Journal: July 2013

.:. Ken's Live Journal

Tuesday, July 30, 2013

Top Ten Reasons to Visit Lewisburg - A Photo Journal


10.  A downtown that radiates tranquility 

9.  A calendar full of special activities – First Fridays after Five, 
Chocolate Festival, Holiday Open House, State Fair

8.  Quaint shops brimming with character – Sunflower Soul, 
Plaid Eagle Antiques, Plants Etc. 

7.  Diversity in people and ideas 

5.  Lots of cool bakeries and restaurants – our favorite is Food and Friends

4.  A nice selection of art galleries for your artful self – Cooper Gallery, 
Washington Street Gallery, Carney Hall Art Exhibit  

3.  The good old-fashion Open Jam Session 
at the Farmers Market from 11:00-12:30 
– last week included banjos, mandolins, dulcimer, guitar, recorder and fiddles 

2. The Bookstore – My latest purchase was Pilgrims Regress by C.S. Lewis

1.   Wild Bean – A great place to read (or write) for the afternoon 
while enjoying a cup of mountain mud.  

Tuesday, July 23, 2013

Twisted, Bent, Broken, Whole, Healing



Sometimes insight comes from the strangest places and at the strangest times.  After a day of classical education training last Friday, Diana and I weaved our way through Lynchburg traffic and located the nearest Panera Bread.  Placing our orders of Greek salads, sandwiches along with delicious pastries we claimed a booth in a corner nook.  There we discussed the flood of information from her day.  It centered around the trivium, the quadrivium, the two-ness of two, the Fibonacci sequencing, zero as a non-number, and the multiplication of the Trinity.  Very exciting stuff.  (Our friends think we are weird.)

It was another concept, however, that really churned my thinking.  In one of the sessions the presenter encouraged thoughtful interaction with reading choices.  Here is my take-away for understanding and evaluating reading material within the categories of twisted, bent, broken, whole and healing: 

Twisted material accentuates, honors, extols evil. Good is portrayed as evil and evil as good.  These stories are meant to enhance and encourage the evil tendencies of the reader.   

Evil is also dominant in bent stories.  While evil is evil and good is good, evil wins.  Ravi Zacharias describes it this way, “In reality nothing is so beautiful as the good, nothing so monotonous and boring as evil.  But in our imagination it’s the other way around, fictional good is boring and flat, fictional evil is very intriguing, attractive and full of charm.  The roles have been reversed.  Good has become boring; evil has become intriguing."

In the works which are broken we see the depths of depravity.  The storyline portrays the recklessness, the degeneration and the brokenness of human nature leading to feelings of hopelessness and despair.  In some of these works however good is made believable and appealing and there is a redeeming element present.  In the end we get a glimpse of the restoration of all things. Most of the classics are in this category. 

Whole works keep reaching higher toward what could be and should be, toward what we yearn for and hope to realize. They are a source of inspiration in our lives toward those things that are noble, admirable and excellent. We are attracted to the beauty of what is true and good.

It is recommended too that we develop a list of those works that have brought healing.  These are the selections that have been instrumental in our lives personally.  At a deep level, at just the right time and possibly at a crisis point, we have read this work and have been profoundly moved and significantly transformed.  For me The Normal Christian Life, Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire, and Prodigal God fit into this healing category. 

Days later we have arrived back in the peaceful confines of our home,, and I am still mulling over these ideas.  It occurs to me that in final analysis this framework is far more reaching than just reading material.  Besides providing a way of seeing literary arts (short stories, poetry, novels) it also gives discernment for the performing arts (movies, music, theater, dance) and the visual arts (paintings, photography, drawings). 

I’m thinking we need a forum to discuss what this all means.  It seems as though we should be having open conversations in order to come to some honest evaluations.  This is where we live after all.  It is impacting our lives.  To do so we will need humility, being honest with ourselves, a true conscience, and wisdom from above.
   

Monday, July 15, 2013

Coffee House Culture



The unearthing of coffee house culture began with a note from a friend, “Ken, if you are poking around Lynchburg killing time at all this week, check out Inklings Bookshop!”  For the next couple of days I held my breath in expectation of spending the afternoon browsing for books, drinking coffee and enjoying the atmosphere inspired by C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien.  The “Inklings” were an informal literary discussion group who met weekly to read aloud their unfinished compositions. 

Locating a place in an unfamiliar city can be nerve wracking, and this day was no exception.  The shop was nowhere in sight, so I parked the car and began the search on foot.  Just ahead I spotted the Black Water Coffee Company.  Maybe they could point me in the right direction. 

Black Water Coffee Company is a small hole in the wall room tucked away in the front corner of twenty storey building.  It has limited seating with only a couple of tables but is none-the-less inviting.  Dark blue walls provide a backdrop for the sale of handmade pottery and art.  A stained glass image hangs in the window and folksy music plays loud enough to fill the room but not too loud to be annoying.  Behind the counter all the necessary ingredients are available to make a designer cup of coffee. 

“I’m looking for the Inklings Bookstore,” I said to the barista.  “That place closed six months ago.”  What a letdown.  “I used to work there,” she goes on to tell me.  “What was it like?”   “People came in and discussed things.  It was natural to join in on conversations.”  “Bible studies at the church tend to funnel down into a specific direction with little room for discussion,” someone adds.  I am reminded of Phil Yancey’s observation, “In the United States, Christians tend to create subcultures, reading their own books, listening to their own music, educating their own children in their own schools.  Little cross-fertilization takes place between that subculture and the wider, secular culture.”

I decided to settle in for the afternoon.  Do a little reading but mostly spy…taking notes, observing particulars, scouring the coffee house to get clues of its culture.     

Mike and his girlfriend come in right away.  They are young in their twenties.  Definitely regulars.  The barista finishes her shift and sits down at the bar with them for lunch.  Eventually Mike disappears.  “So Mike is leaving town?” the barista questions.  “Yeah, he is going to pick blueberries.  I think it will be good for him.”  Another twenty something strides in wearing a black T, jeans and work boots.  His arms are covered with tattoos.  “Rabble,” he says to the group in general and no one in particular.  He orders his drink then enters into the discussion.  “I’m leaving town to work on an oil rig serving food,” he says.  Evidently everyone is leaving town for work, I think.

“Cooper!” the name rings out with enthusiasm as Cooper comes through the door.  No wonder these people gather here with such excitement for their presence.  “How did you like the Mexican iced coffee?”  Others wander in, order drinks, and leave.  Some stay and surf the internet.  Almost all converse.   “Why it’s the muffin man!” rings out another greeting.  “It is the muffin man,” comes the reply.  The muffin man is wearing a short beard, close cropped hair while keys dangle from his side.  “I’m starting grad school in the fall,” he says.  “Very cool, man.”  “After that I’ll be a lazy professor for the rest of my life.”

Later in the afternoon the water and coffee take over, and I have to take a nature break.  “Do you have a restroom?” I ask.  “Yeah, it’s on the 8th floor.  The elevator is just around the corner.”  That’s a first for me, of all the coffee houses I’ve visited nationally and internationally none have had an 8th floor restroom.  Each has its own charm I guess. 

“What’s happening, Kyle?  How’s your wife?”  Kyle has a red hoodie pulled over his head and begins spilling out a story of his wife.  “We had to rush her to the hospital.  Then rush her to another one.  It was scary, but the little dude is fine.”  “I’m so glad to hear everybody is good,” the barista says, “I’m so happy for you.”  

The people and conversations go on and on as the afternoon comes to a close and I come to a conclusion.  A coffee house is not only about drinking coffee. It’s more importantly about the atmosphere and culture the proprietor creates.  A café provides a place for community togetherness much like the county store, fitness gym, beauty shop or local restaurant.  Regulars stop in, news is shared, encouragement is given and ideas are discussed.  For us it can be the perfect place to break out of the Christian ghetto and rub shoulders with a wide strand of a Christ needy society.   

Tuesday, July 09, 2013

Bring Christians to Know Christ?



We see what we are looking for when we read the Bible.  In other words, we bring our preconceived notions and biases to the text.  That can actually be a good thing if we have come to a relatively accurate understanding.  The peril comes when our understanding is skewed or our attitude is humdrum. 

Phil Yancey amplifies this thought in his book The Jesus I Never Knew.  Phil grew up in an ultra conservative, legalistic, racist church in the south.  Because of the distortions taught and the abuses encountered, he abandoned the faith.  Eventually he returned.   His brother never has.  In the book he seeks to remove our comfortable misconceptions and uncover the authentic transforming life of Christ. 

Os Guinness gives a similar challenge but with a different twist:

“Arthur F. Burns, the chairman of the United Sates Federal Reserve System and ambassador to West Germany, was a man of considerable gravity.  Medium in height, distinguished, with wavy silver hair and his signature pipe, he was economic counselor to numerous presidents from Dwight D. Eisenhower to Ronald Reagan.  When he spoke, his opinion carried weight and Washington listened.

“Arthur Burns was also Jewish, so when he began attending an informal White House group for prayer and fellowship in the 1970’s he was accorded special respect.  No one in fact knew quite how to involve him in the group and week after week when different people took turns to end the meeting in prayer, Burns was passed by–out of a mixture of respect and reticence. 

“One week, however, the group was led by a newcomer who did not know the unusual status Burns occupied.  As the meetings ended, the newcomer turned to Arthur Burns and asked him to close the time with a prayer.  Some of the old-timers glanced at each other in surprise and wondered what would happen.  But without missing a beat, Burns reached out, held hands with the others in the circle, and prayed this prayer, ‘Lord, I pray that you would bring Jews to know Jesus Christ.  I pray that you would bring Muslims to know Jesus Christ.  Finally, Lord, I pray that you would bring Christians to know Jesus Christ. Amen.’”

Such thoughts make us wonder if we are marred in a Christian subculture that knows all the correct terminology but denies Christ’s changing power.  Is it possible that those looking in from the outside see us living in a Christian ghetto that appears formal and dead?  Do we need to bring Christians to know Christ?  

Wednesday, July 03, 2013

Righteous Wrath



Sometimes there are posts a person doesn’t really want to write.   This is one of those times.  It’s not that I’m embarrassed by the subject or think it inconsistent with God Himself.  No, it’s more the misunderstanding that goes along with it and the negative reaction it elicits. I write at the challenge of a friend who said, “the subject of divine wrath has become taboo in modern society, and Christians by and large have accepted the taboo.”  So in the interest of not being a taboo accepter and in the interest of not muzzling the truth…here goes. 

It would seem that for some the idea of wrath is unworthy of a loving God.  This is especially true among those who would shape God into the image of an overly permissive parent and who would dismiss accountability to a Creator altogether. They perceive and present God as a hateful fire breathing deity whose indiscriminate rage looks for an opportunity to devour anyone in sight. He is irrational, bad tempered and lacks any self-control. 

Nothing could be further from the truth.  Such a view sucks the true meaning out to the concept.  Wrath in the Bible is always judicial – a picture of the Judge administering justice….fair and objective, impartial and just.  It is God’s resolute action in punishing hideous sin.    Is this so far-fetched from our own way reacting to evil? 

Breaking news stories continually reveal heinous crimes against humanity.  We are outraged.  Rebels in Africa practice genocide against a rival tribe, women are held captive in Cleveland for years while being molested, someone enters a school in Vermont or theater in Colorado and randomly kills, children in Asia are trafficked in the sex trade.

Such news stirs within us “righteous indignation”, and we want the perpetrators of such moral evil brought to justice. In fact to ignore it would be cruel and inhuman.  Why then should we deny a perfectly holy God the same “righteous indignation” against moral evil?  Why should we call into question His just wrath against sin? 

Unless of course we find ourselves to be the offenders.  Then we attempt to skirt around His justice.  Then we call into question God’s motives and attempt to discredit His character.  Then we deny His existence to make it all a mute point or a theoretical one at best.  But at the end of the day we all remain accountable to both His loving mercy and His righteous wrath. 


 


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